PCF8883 - Capacitive Proximity Switch With Auto-Calibration: Rev. 03 - 8 September 2010 Application Note

AN10832
PCF8883 - capacitive proximity switch with auto-calibration

Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 Application note
Document information
Info Content
Keywords PCF8883; proximity switch; auto-calibration
Abstract This application note describes briefly important factors for the usage of
the PCF8883 sensor device.
NXP Semiconductors AN10832
Revision history
Rev Date Description
03 20100908 corrected revision
02 20100819 extended revision
01 20090612 new application note, first revision
Contact information
For more information, please visit: http://www.nxp.com
For sales office addresses, please send an email to: salesaddresses@nxp.com
AN10832 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2010. All rights reserved.
Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 2 of 19

1. Introduction
The PCF8883 IC is a capacitive switch that uses a patented digital technique (patent from
Edisen) to detect a change of capacitance on the device input. In order to use this switch,
the following must first be defined:
• the form and materials to be used

• the desired switching distance from the sensing plate and
• the desired switching characteristic
The following text explains the relationship between the product design and the electrical
switching to be expected.
SENSING PLATE RC CF
RF 10 pF
COAXIAL CABLE 6.8 k
IN VDD(INTREGD)
CSENS VDD(INTREGD)
Toggle
CCABLE
Pulse TYPE CLIN 100 nF
Push-
button
mono-flop PCF8883 CCLIN
2 ms/nF 22 pF
CPC OUT
ROUT ≥ 470
CCPC VSS VDD
470 nF
013aaa080
1 F
Fig 1. Typical application circuit

2. Dimensioning of RC, CCPC, and CCLIN

The adaption of the switch to a particular application usually requires to adjust several
components because certain parameters can be influenced by one or more factors:
sensor area, sensor environment, and triggering must be taken into account. These
aspects are constitutive for the behavior of the switch.
The circuit has three parameters that influence the switching behavior. Below they are
listed in order of their influence:
• Switch sensitivity (CCPC capacitance between CPC and VSS)

• Calibration of the total capacitance on the sensor input (RC between IN and VSS)
• Switching speed (CCLIN between CLIN and VSS)
Once the sensing area is defined (geometry, material, distance from sensing plate to
input), the typical values given in the data sheet for CCPC and CCLIN should be used as a
starting point for tuning the sensitivity of the switch.
2.1 RC
This resistor must be used when the cable connecting the sensing plate to the input is
longer than about 0.5 m or when the sensing plate area is larger than approximately the
area of an adult hand; otherwise, no switching will happen.
According to the data sheet, the total capacitance on the input should be between 10 pF
and 60 pF in order for the control loop to work correctly and reliably. In practice, it is
normally impossible to measure this capacitance. Alternatively, the voltage on CCPC can
V DD ( INTREGD )
be measured. Ideally, the operating voltage on CCPC should be ----------------------------------- .
2
This measurement must be done with a high impedance probe (Rin > 5 GΩ) since this
point has a high resistance1. The lower limit for RC is approximately 20 kΩ. It should be
noted, that the IC has an internal 50 kΩ resistor connected in parallel to RC (pin IN to VSS).
When RC is less than 20 kΩ, higher internal currents are flowing and the precision of the
device is declining.
Check the switching by touching the sensor plate although the final application will use
proximity switching. Change the capacitance CCPC if no switching occurs. Increasing the
value of CCPC should be tried first. If the sensor still does not switch, try simplifying the
switch construction. In most cases, changing CCPC will result in the sensor switching.
2.2 CCPC
The sensitivity can be set once the sensor switches reliably (see previous step). Touching
the sensor plate is the least critical case and usually works with the value of CCPC given in
the data sheet (CCPC = 470 nF, typical).
1. Measuring the voltage on the CPC capacitor is not usually possible since the impedance on pin CPC is too high for most
oscilloscope probes. The problem can be solved by using a high impedance probe (a voltage follower for example).
Alternatively, it is possible to use the following characteristic of the PCF8883. On power-up, the internal capacitors are charged
using 50 times the normal charging current in order to stabilize the control loop as quickly as possible. During this time, it is
possible to measure the voltage at CPC correctly using a standard oscilloscope probe.

Adjustments are usually necessary when:
1. The sensor area is small and the triggering area is comparable or smaller. For
example, if the sensor is used in a keyboard, the keys may have a small area. The
area of a finger is comparable to the sensor area. The switch must be fine-tuned such
that neighboring switches do not react.
2. The distance between the sensor plate and triggering object is larger than the sensor
plate area (switching at a distance).
3. Switching through materials having different permittivity εr is desired.
The second point is actually a special case of the third point. The complexity is caused by
the fact that the switching point is not solely defined by the sensing plate but also by the
situation of the air (and its permittivity εr) between the plate and the triggering object.
Since the nature of air can change slightly depending on conditions, the situation for
proximity switching is not as well defined as when the plate has to be touched. This makes
it difficult to give a precise range for switching at a distance. Furthermore, the sampling of
the sensor influences switching at a distance as well (see Section 2.3). The cases listed
above can also occur in combination.
A larger value of CCPC increases the sensitivity, which means:
• That the sensor area can be reduced

• The sensor reacts at a distance
• The range through materials with different permittivity is increased
2.3 CCLIN
CCLIN defines the internal sampling frequency used to sample the signal on input pin IN.
The sampling period is given by:
T ( fk ) [ μs ] = 300μs + C CLIN [pF] × 33μs/pF (1)
The sensor reacts faster when the frequency is increased since the necessary number of
comparisons is reached in less time. On the other hand, this also means that the sensor
self calibrates to new environments more quickly with the result that a slow moving hand
will no longer cause the sensor to switch: The sensor calibrates itself to the new
environment (with the hand) more quickly than detecting the changes caused by the
approaching hand. Another consequence of increasing the sampling frequency is that the
sensor reacts to quick changes at a distance with higher sensitivity. This effect can be
enhanced by increasing CCPC or the sensing area.
To get the proper dimension of CCLIN it is important to know the normal “approach speed”
of the triggering object. A machine often moves more quickly than a human does; and a
single finger could move more quickly than an entire hand.
It is also important to note that the power consumption of the device increases when
increasing the sampling frequency.

3. Sensitivity and capacitance changes

Many factors can increase and decrease the sensitivity of the switch. The sensitivity is a
function of:
• The approach speed of the triggering object

• The area of the sensor plate (or electrode) and the area of the triggering object
• The shape of the sensor plate and the triggering object
• The nature and thickness of the material between the electrodes
• The plate (or electrode) orientation
• The coupling between the sensor area, sensor triggering object, and the ground
(earth)
The sensor area, the triggering object, and the dielectric material between them constitute
a capacitor. The capacitance seen on the sensor input (IN) consists of all the desired
capacitance and parasitic capacitance to be compensated by the control loop. In Figure 2,
the capacitor connected to the hand (triggering object) is used to show that a capacitance
exists between the hand and ground (earth). The ground can be the negative supply or
the earth, depending on the situation.
PCF8883
013aaa081
Fig 2. Typical example
The capacitance of a plate capacitor is given by:
A
C = --- × ε 0 × ε r (2)
d

Whereas
C = capacitance in F
A = cross sectional area of plates in m2
d = distance between sensing plate and activator in m
ε0 = absolute permittivity of free space (8.85 × 10−12 F/m)

εr = relative permittivity of the material covering the sensor
This expression is valid for our example, but in practice, the plates are rarely identical and
the distance and dielectric can change.
3.1 Capacitance changes

The voltage on the sensor input is compared to an internal reference at discrete points in
time defined by the sampling frequency. The control loop continuously tries to maintain
voltage equilibrium on CCPC by either subtracting or adding charge to the capacitor. An
up-down counter counts how often charge flows consecutively in one direction. In
equilibrium, the counter is effectively continually reset since the charge flows first in one
direction and then the other. The counter causes the output to switch when the counter
has counted 63 times. The sensor reacts only to changes in capacitance. A finger that
approaches the sensing plate continually changes the capacitance of the plate.
According to the capacitance equation above, the capacitance can also be changed by
changing the area and the permittivity. In practice, the area and permittivity are more
relevant for the sensitivity of the sensor.

4. Approach speed and dynamics

The sensor compensates changes in static or slowly changing capacitance. The sensor
first switches when it can no longer compensate the change in capacitance.
Figure 3 shows how the capacitance changes with respect to the distance. The same
capacitance change ΔC can be produced close to the sensing plate (Δd1) or further away
(Δd2).
A triggering object moving at a constant speed will cause a larger capacitance change
nearer to the plate than one further away from it.
Please note that the sensor requires more than 63 consecutive increases (or decreases)
in capacitance over a fixed period to cause a switch; hence it can be deduced that the
switch distance increases with increasing approach speeds.
013aaa082
C = capacitance.
d = distance.
Fig 3. Capacitance change as function of the distance

5. Influence of the size and form of the capacitor plates (electrodes)

An open input pin on PCF8883 represents the worst possible sensing area and is not
recommended. The easiest method to increase the sensitivity is to increase the sensing
area. The capacitance equation, Equation 2, illustrates that the capacitance (C) is
proportional to the cross sectional area of the sensing plate (A). In most cases, simply
increasing the sensing area will lead to the desired result. When the sensing area is
limited by the application then the value of CCPC has to be increased to increase the
sensitivity.
Increasing the size of the triggering object can also increase the sensitivity. Under certain
conditions, this may be desired in order to optimize the switching characteristic for a
particular application. For example, switching through a thick layer of material where the
material itself influences the sensitivity (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 shows, that despite a large sensor area a fingertip may be unable to make the
sensor switch whereas the whole hand does it because it cuts all of the sensor’s field
lines. This simplified model can help to understand how to optimize the application.
013aaa083
Fig 4. Influence of approaching objects

The minimal sensor area should not be smaller than the triggering object area. A larger
sensing area is recommended. The sensor area or CCPC must be increased in cases
when switching has to take place through different layers (e.g. over distance, with differing
permittivity).
Concerning the PCF8883, there is no limitation on form or design of the sensing area. The
sensing area can take any form as long as the required sensitivity will be obtained. Oval or
round areas are recommended, since they have the least edge effects.

6. Influence of thickness and nature of the dielectric

The dielectric encompasses everything between the sensing area and the triggering
object area.
The thickness and nature of each dielectric influences the strength and flux of the electric
field passing through. If different layers of material with different permittivity are used then
all layers will influence the field and flux. The electric field will be refracted, diffracted,
reflected and diminished depending on the exact materials and construction used.
Another factor to be considered is the total thickness of the construction.
The range of permittivity εr for typical application materials are:
• Glass, εrg: 6 to 8
• Plastic, εrp: 2 to 4
• Conductive foam, εrf: 2 to 3
• Air, εra: 1
6.1 Air gap

In the application shown in Figure 5, the sensor area is mounted behind 10 mm glass, a
0.3 mm air gap and 2 mm plastic.
TOUCH DIRECTION
SENSING PLATE
PLASTIC
AIR GAP
GLASS
013aaa398
Fig 5. Application example containing an air gap
Materials having higher relative permittivity support higher sensitivity because the
electrical field strength is proportional to the relative permittivity and inverse proportional
to the thickness. The air gap above is an issue because the relative permittivity εr = 1 is
low compared to plastic or glass.
The sensitivity is proportional to the capacity value of CSENS. The total capacity is
composed of the capacitors of the materials in series:
• Glass: Cg
• Plastic: Cp

• Conductive foam: Cf
• Air: Ca
And dx is the thickness of the materials.
CP
CSENS =
CA
CG
013aaa416
Fig 6. Total capacity as result of capacitors in series
A
C p = ----- × ε 0 × ε rp (3)
dp
A
C a = ----- × ε 0 × ε ra (4)
da
A
C g = ----- × ε 0 × ε rg (5)
dg
Out of Equation 3 to Equation 5 CSENS will be calculated with Equation 6:
Cp × Ca × Cg
C SENS = ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- (6)
Cp × Ca + Cp × Cg + Ca × Cg
The total capacity is smaller than the smallest of the three capacities. Therefore air gaps
should be avoided or minimized and the thickness of the material should be reduced to a
minimum.
6.2 Conductive foam

By placing some conductive foam between the sensor plate and the glass, an air gap can
be avoided (see Figure 7).

TOUCH DIRECTION
SENSING PLATE
PLASTIC
CONDICTIVE FOAM
GLASS
013aaa399
Fig 7. Application example with conductive foam
Compared with the example in Section 6.1, replacing the air gap with conductive foam will
increase the sensitivity of the set-up.

7. Plate (electrode) orientation

A capacitance change that is high enough will cause any application to switch. The
following rule always applies:
The more field lines that the triggering object cuts, the larger the generated capacitance
change will be.
Figure 8 illustrates this effect. The approaching palm area triggers a switch faster than the
side of the hand.
Top view of sensing

plate and field lines
013aaa085
Fig 8. Trigger object area

8. Electrical environment
The presence of ground (earth) influences capacitive sensing. Figure 9 shows the
expected field with and without neighboring grounds.
013aaa086
Fig 9. Influence of grounds
The electric field takes the shortest path to ground. As shown in Figure 9, the presence of
the ground flattens the field and therefore shortens the switching distance and sensitivity
in comparison to the example without a ground nearby.
Conductors next to the sensor plate have either to be isolated by an air gap or by isolating
material, see Figure 10.
TOUCH
DIRECTION
AIR GAP
ADJACENT SENSING PLATE ADJACENT

CONDUCTOR CONDUCTOR
ISOLATOR
013aaa401
An isolation > 0.1 mm will be sufficient.

Fig 10. Isolating the sensing plate against adjacent conductors
A grounded plate placed underneath the sensor plate will shield signals from below,
reduce any coupling, and give a defined sensor capacity, see Figure 11. Such a ground
plate can easily be realized using a double sided or multilayer PCB.
However, the grounded plate and the sensing plate are building a capacitor, which may
reduce the sensitivity.

TOUCH DIRECTION
SENSING PLATE
GROUNDED PLATE
ISOLATOR
013aaa400
An isolation > 0.2 mm will be sufficient.

Fig 11. Grounded plate under the sensor for shielding signals from below

9. The capacitive compromise

A capacitive switch is always a compromise. A non self-calibrated capacitive device must
be initially calibrated and will only function with one set of materials and over a particular
distance. Dirt, humidity, and changes in temperature can impair and prevent the correct
function.
The self-calibrated switch, PCF8883, adjusts itself continuously to the environment. It will
only switch when the capacitance changes more than 63 times consecutively in one
direction.
Very slow changes will be neutralized by the self-calibration. Extremely quick changes are
not registered because the device never reaches the required number of changes to
switch. In other words, the disturbance is digitally filtered out.
Therefore, the switch must be optimized for the typical application requirements. The big
advantage is that such things as dirt, humidity, ice or damage to the electrode do not
affect this device.
Our experience is that the user intuitively and quickly adapts to the device behavior
without having to understand any of the technical details.

10. Legal information
10.1 Definitions design. It is customer’s sole responsibility to determine whether the NXP
Semiconductors product is suitable and fit for the customer’s applications and
products planned, as well as for the planned application and use of
Draft — The document is a draft version only. The content is still under
customer’s third party customer(s). Customers should provide appropriate
internal review and subject to formal approval, which may result in
design and operating safeguards to minimize the risks associated with their
modifications or additions. NXP Semiconductors does not give any
applications and products.
representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of
information included herein and shall have no liability for the consequences of NXP Semiconductors does not accept any liability related to any default,
use of such information. damage, costs or problem which is based on any weakness or default in the
customer’s applications or products, or the application or use by customer’s
third party customer(s). Customer is responsible for doing all necessary
10.2 Disclaimers testing for the customer’s applications and products using NXP
Semiconductors products in order to avoid a default of the applications and
the products or of the application or use by customer’s third party
Limited warranty and liability — Information in this document is believed to
customer(s). NXP does not accept any liability in this respect.
be accurate and reliable. However, NXP Semiconductors does not give any
representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or Export control — This document as well as the item(s) described herein
completeness of such information and shall have no liability for the may be subject to export control regulations. Export might require a prior
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and disclaimers shall apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable
NXP Semiconductors products in such equipment or applications and
law, even if any remedy fails of its essential purpose.
therefore such inclusion and/or use is at the customer’s own risk.
Applications — Applications that are described herein for any of these
products are for illustrative purposes only. NXP Semiconductors makes no 10.3 Trademarks
representation or warranty that such applications will be suitable for the
specified use without further testing or modification. Notice: All referenced brands, product names, service names and trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
Customers are responsible for the design and operation of their applications
and products using NXP Semiconductors products, and NXP Semiconductors
accepts no liability for any assistance with applications or customer product

11. Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Dimensioning of RC, CCPC, and CCLIN. . . . . . . . 4
2.1 RC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 CCPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 CCLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 Sensitivity and capacitance changes. . . . . . . . 6
3.1 Capacitance changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 Approach speed and dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5 Influence of the size and form of the capacitor
plates (electrodes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6 Influence of thickness and nature of the
dielectric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.1 Air gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.2 Conductive foam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7 Plate (electrode) orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8 Electrical environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
9 The capacitive compromise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10 Legal information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
10.1 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
10.2 Disclaimers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
10.3 Trademarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
11 Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Please be aware that important notices concerning this document and the product(s)
described herein, have been included in section ‘Legal information’.
© NXP B.V. 2010. All rights reserved.

For more information, please visit: http://www.nxp.com
For sales office addresses, please send an email to: salesaddresses@nxp.com
Date of release: 8 September 2010
Document identifier: AN10832

PCF8883 - Capacitive Proximity Switch With Auto-Calibration: Rev. 03 - 8 September 2010 Application Note

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AN10832

PCF8883 - capacitive proximity switch with auto-calibration

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 2 of 19

• the form and materials to be used

Fig 1. Typical application circuit

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 3 of 19

2. Dimensioning of RC, CCPC, and CCLIN

• Switch sensitivity (CCPC capacitance between CPC and VSS)

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 4 of 19

Adjustments are usually necessary when:

A larger value of CCPC increases the sensitivity, which means:

• That the sensor area can be reduced

T ( fk ) [ μs ] = 300μs + C CLIN [pF] × 33μs/pF (1)

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 5 of 19

3. Sensitivity and capacitance changes

• The approach speed of the triggering object

Fig 2. Typical example

The capacitance of a plate capacitor is given by:

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 6 of 19

A = cross sectional area of plates in m2

d = distance between sensing plate and activator in m

ε0 = absolute permittivity of free space (8.85 × 10−12 F/m)

3.1 Capacitance changes

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 7 of 19

4. Approach speed and dynamics

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 8 of 19

5. Influence of the size and form of the capacitor plates (electrodes)

Fig 4. Influence of approaching objects

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 9 of 19

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 10 of 19

6. Influence of thickness and nature of the dielectric

The range of permittivity εr for typical application materials are:

6.1 Air gap

Fig 5. Application example containing an air gap

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 11 of 19

Fig 6. Total capacity as result of capacitors in series

Out of Equation 3 to Equation 5 CSENS will be calculated with Equation 6:

6.2 Conductive foam

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 12 of 19

Fig 7. Application example with conductive foam

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 13 of 19

7. Plate (electrode) orientation

Top view of sensing

Fig 8. Trigger object area

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 14 of 19

Fig 9. Influence of grounds

ADJACENT SENSING PLATE ADJACENT

An isolation > 0.1 mm will be sufficient.

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 15 of 19

An isolation > 0.2 mm will be sufficient.

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 16 of 19

9. The capacitive compromise

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 17 of 19

10. Legal information

Application note Rev. 03 — 8 September 2010 18 of 19

© NXP B.V. 2010. All rights reserved.

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